Who wins the cup at Germany 06?
On paper its got to be Brazil, but somehow I’m not
so sure that this is Brazil’s cup. This one is very close to call. There are a
number of other teams here who I think could win the cup, and I’m
thinking of Argentina, Mexico, England, Germany, Czech Republic and
Portugal. The Germans have far too few world class players to be a
serious threat, and as a team, they’ve not done anything fantastic in the
last two years ; just a year ago, they were outclassed at the Confederations Cup which they hosted. Besides, Coach Juergen Klinsmann is yet to show his credentials as a good tactician. Still, this is the World Cup – a stage at which the Germans thrive, and nobody writes them off playing at home.
Argentina, England and the Czech Republic have the players and the teamwork to stand toe- to- toe with Brazil, and I sense that we could be hearing from Portugal and Mexico too in the closing stages.
Those who wont win it.
The
Dutch lead a pack of European giants who won’t make it this time. I think their emphasis on youth will back fire – a couple of experienced hands they left behind could have greatly helped their cause. A Ruud Van Nistelrooy in peak form could have made all the difference, but sadly, the Manchester United striker is not the same Weapon of Mass Destruction we knew a few years back.
The latins might as well forget it too. For the Italians, strikers Alessandro Del Piero and Fillipo Inzaghi have passed their prime, and their successors aren’t quite in the same class. The fact that a faded Raul is still a key member of the Spanish team shows just how poor their resources are. Of course a number of good youngsters have emerged from clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Valencia and Villareal, and not forgetting the English Premiership contingent, but I just can’t see this generation of players getting much better results than their predecessors did. France may still have Henry, Zidane and Viera, but they don’t have anything like the Class of 98. I think they will find it hard to go beyond the quarterfinal.
And how about Andriy Shevchenko’s aUkraine, Serbia and Montenegro and Croatia – the ones from behind the Iron Curtain? Or Gnassingbe’s Togo or the South American dark horses Ecuador? No, not quite. The Saudis, though, could spring a surprise or two, so could Cote D'Ivore in the Group of Death, as well as Australia who I believe will go through with Brazil from Group G.
As for Brazil, the omens aren’t very good. They almost always falter whenever they are the favourites – like they are this year. And there’s this little matter of the European soil; this is Europe, remember? And since that Brazilian triumph in Sweden almost half a century ago, no non-European country has managed to lift the trophy on European soil. There are question marks too about the much vaunted dream team They still present veterans Roberto Carlos and Marcos Cafu – both past their best – as their first choice wing backs; they don’t have a commanding figure at the heart of their defence; they still look to Ronaldo to lead their attack. He may still be only 30, but he’s certainly past his best. Adriano beside him could be explosive on his day, but he too has been in poor form all season. If this is the best strikeforce the Brazilians can come up with at Germany 06(the coach even named them in his starting line-up long before the tournament started), they would get stuck along the way, even with the likes of Kaka, Robinho and Ronaldinho pulling the strings.
So who wins? I’m not sticking out my neck- except to predict the semi final line-up. For that,pick any two from Argentina, Brazil and Mexico and any two from Czech Republic, England, Germany and Portugal.
